Nokia E71 Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, 3G, Media Player, GPS, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Gray) Top Quality

I know that "elegant" is not a word that a man would usually use to describe something that he owns but it is truly an elegant phone. It's beautiful.

I'm not a technophile, so my review won't be as indepth as some. So I'll keep it simple.

If you've owned any Nokia phones before then it will take you only one day to learn to use this phone. It has lots of menus and it's very easy to navigate between them. It operates on 3G and it's better by leaps and bounds over EDGE. All I did was get the phone, put my ten year old sim card in it and I was making calls. Seriously, it was that easy. I bought an 8G micro sd card and I'm taking pics too. Some have said that the camera is not world class but it works just fine for what it is- a camera phone.

The screen is not as big as the new touchscreen phones but it is very large and shows very high quality pictures and video. The speaker is loud and clear, but on speakerphone, the louder the volume, the more the distortion.

The phone is stunningly beautiful as well. It is very thin, yet sturdy. It has a heavy feel, and quality build. I recommend the gray for men though. I own both the white and gray and they are both fantastic. Prepare to get compliments- ALL THE TIME! Ladies love it, men love it, and my kids all want one now.

Lets get to the pluses. 1: Sturdy build and estectically beautiful. 2: Many menus that are very easy to understand and navigate between. 3: Accessories included. Very handsome carrying case, headset, usb cable, and ac charger, and cd rom with drivers all come with the phone. 4: 3G interner with wi-fi. Fast internet at that. 5: Unexpected little things like the notification light that alerts you when you have a missed call, text message, email, etc. Ane the beautiful clock with date stamp and icons; it only comes on when you turn off the annoying breathing light. but when you push the navigation button, the digital clock is very big and bright. Very nice touch. 6: Very long battery life. On both of my phones I'm getting between 4 and 5 days between charges. Maybe I just got lucky. There are many more pluses, but those that I listed are my favorites.

Now the minuses. 1: The phone gets really warm if you're on it for more than 15 minutes. This is terribly annoying. 2: The stupid breathing light that I see no need for at all. It just blinks and drives you crazy. I checked and most other users of this phone found this to be annoying as well- so I'm not alone in that department. Nokia emailed me and showed me how to turn it off and it worked. I'll instruct on that later in this review. 3: The qwerty keyboard is fantastic and has great feel to it so one doesn't have to push the buttons hard at all. The problem is that the keys are super tiny and take a little getting used to. 4: Finally a very minor minus; no smileys. There are no emoticons to insert into texts like on older less expensive phones.

Overall verdict is BUY. I researched phones for 8 months, and this one in particular for at least two. I read the reviews and decided that this one was perfect. After two weeks with the white phone and another two weeks with the gray one, I am perfectly satisfied with this phone. You won't believe how beautiful it is.

How to get rid of the "Breathing Light" when you get the phone.

Step 1. Push the "Menu" button.

Step 2. Go to the "Tools" menu, and select it.

Step 3. Go to the "Profiles" menu, and select it.

Step 4. Go to your prefered setting (normal, silent, meeting, etc.), but DO NOT select it.

Step 5. Push the "Options" button, and scroll to "Customize"

Step 6. Scroll down to "Breathing Light" and push the "Options" button. Scroll to "Change", and select "Off". Select "Ok".

Now the light is off and the screensaver clock is activated. I hope this review helps someone.

Update: 04/05/2009. I love this phone. I backed up my files to my computer. And its a good thing I did. I did the recommended firmware update and low and behold it updated the phone but wiped out all of my settings and all of my contacts!!! I reinstalled my stuff from the pc and all is well, plus a few extras that was in the update. I will be backing up my phone weekly now.

One new glitch though. After I updated the phone, the clock that acts as a screensaver does not advance. It stays at the same time until you push the navigation button. When the lighted clock shows, it shows the correct time, but the screensaver does not. Very minor problem, just wonder why a good thing goes bad after an "UPDATE"?

Still the best phone I've owned, and I still say purchase. Get more detail about Nokia E71 Unlocked Phone with 3.2 MP Camera, 3G, Media Player, GPS, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot--U.S. Version with Warranty (Gray).